Operation in The UK
The UK company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the US broadcaster since 2004. The UK operation operates from two sites - its studios and headquarters are based at Chiswick Park, a 'campus'-style development on the site of a derelict London Transport bus depot in West London. From its UK launch until June 2012, QVC's headquarters and broadcasting facilities were based at Marco Polo House in Battersea. Its centre and distribution warehouse had moved to Kirkby, in Knowsley, on Merseyside, in 1998 from Liverpool's Harrington Dock. The company also has outlet stores in Warrington and Shrewsbury.
In June 2011, it was reported that QVC UK had begun carrying out trials of 3D broadcasting. This was merely an experiment, a spokesperson said.
The channel broadcasts live 17 hours a day (the remainder being repeated content) year round. QVC UK claims a market penetration of 15.4 million homes on the cable, satellite, and digital terrestrial TV. The satellite 'footprint' also takes in much of western Europe. Retail sales for the year 2008 reached £360+ million.
On 26 October 2010 a second channel was launched in the UK, QVC Beauty, available to viewers of Freeview, Sky and Freesat.
QVC had planned to begin broadcasting in high-definition from September 2012, to be followed by the launch of two new 24-hour channels on Sky. However, as of October 2012 QVC HD has not launched.
Read more about this topic: QVC (UK)
Famous quotes containing the word operation:
“Waiting for the race to become official, he began to feel as if he had as much effect on the final outcome of the operation as a single piece of a jumbo jigsaw puzzle has to its predetermined final design. Only the addition of the missing fragments of the puzzle would reveal if the picture was as he guessed it would be.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)